TRAVEL AND SOCIAL MEDIA

True story:  On the recent trip to NYC for a Broadway binge (see last post), I was delighted to sign on to FlyFi, the excellent and free WiFi service offered by JetBlue.  It was by far the best connectivity I have experienced in the air.   The plane was remarkably empty for this mid-week, mid-afternoon flight from LAX to JFK so I promptly took advantage and moved to a completely empty row, if you can even imagine such a thing in today's world!

I decided to share this unique circumstance (room to spread out) and posted the photo below on my Instagram and Twitter feeds with the copy:

travelwithteribAnyone remember a time when you had the entire row to yourself?#JetBlue #toogoodtobetrue #watchingbaseball #upintheair

What's remarkable is that not more than a minute passed when I received JetBlue's response via Twitter: "@TravelwithTeriB  All to yourself? You're sitting next to RiRi!" And we communicated a bit more as you can see from the post on the right. So what is the takeaway?  1) I actually do understand how hashtags work (will wonders never cease??); and 2) If you want to put yourself, your goings-on, your travels out there, it's not that difficult ... but do we really want to??? And why???????????

I think JetBlue is really smart to have personnel committed to social media so as to jump on any mention of the company -- either from direct communication or from reference via hashtag -- in real time and with a sense of humor.  If their future business relies on tech-savvy flyers, then best be "on board" and all in.  

In my day job as a printing broker (providing printed communications and logo products to different corporate clients via the company I founded in 1999, Print Technology), I have great admiration for two clients who are both incredibly shrewd when it comes to social media (Duff's Cakemix @DuffsCakemix and Olive & June @oliveandjune).  While that is used for their businesses, I still learn some "tricks of the trade" for my travel posts.   

My quest for staying up on social media is a daily endeavor.  My favorite is Instagram for stunning photos, brief(!) comments, and a peek into others' lives and others looking at whatever I choose to share. 

  

   

At left is a screenshot of an Instagram post from the recent NYC trip. As an aside, I'm so pleased with myself that I can finally create a screenshot from my phone when I actually want to and not inadvertently! 

What is noteworthy is I used hashtags to highlight the show titles, among which was: #curiousincidentofthedoginthenighttime

Next to the "heart" symbol are other Instagrammers who saw the post and liked it, among whom is "ty_lea"  ... someone with whom I wasn't previously connected but is Tyler Lea, the (phenomenal) star of the show!  I thought it was very cool that he found the post and liked it.

So before I lose every reader, I will sign off by saying look for the next post from far, far away as the hubby and I depart soon for Dubai and Abu Dhabi, certainly a first to be over Thanksgiving!